“Laurence can’t really love Aslan more than Jesus, even if he feels that’s what he is doing,” said Lewis. “For the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply things that Jesus really did and said. So that when Laurence thinks he is loving Aslan, he is really loving Jesus; and perhaps loving him more than he ever did before.”If authentic Lewis, it takes the edge off the claim that "...clearly Lewis himself didn't see the [Narnia] books as allegories or as metaphors."
(I'm with my brother on the point that the book is Christian--but only to those well-steeped in Christian mythology.)
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That quote is taken from Letters to Children, edited by Lyle W. Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead, New York, Scribner, 1996. Insofar as this book is a reputable collection of Lewis' letters, the quote is reputable as well.
The mother of Laurence is concerned that her son loves Aslan more than Jesus, and prefers reading about Narnia to reading his Bible. Lewis responds by assuring the mother that the things Laurence loves about Aslan are things that he will eventually realize are more fully actualized in Jesus; she need not be concerned that her son's obsession with Aslan might draw him away from Christ--it should only serve to draw him closer.
This quote, however, does little to argue for the Narnia books as allegory.
Ah, yes, that slippery definition of "allegory"--a one-to-one correspondence, or something else? To paraphrase Bill Wallo, allegory, not technically; allegorical, yes.
Clearly Aslan is a Christ figure (by Lewis's admission) or a Christ type or a Christ metaphor, whichever way we want to describe it.
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